In a New York Times article on the gubernatorial race between Kathy Hochul and Lee Zeldin, the writer notes that it started out as a prospective “blowout”. That was a reasonable expectation in the staunchly Democratic blue state. Indeed, the record shows that a Republican win in New York is an anomaly. But contrary to this fully justified outlook, that’s not the way it turned out: Zeldin came close to beating her, garnering 47.3% to Hochul’s 52.7% and at some points during the count the incumbent’s victory appeared to be uncertain.
In the last 50 years, there have only been three gubernatorial elections that have gone to the GOP. As most New Yorkers see it, the result of any election in the state has more than likely, always been a no-brainer.
Yesterday Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul beat Lee Zeldin, and the headlines are trumpeting the win as historic, which it is if you consider that she is the first woman to be elected to the office, but for many of us that is not the story. What we should be talking about is that a Republican almost took the gubernatorial seat in a climate where democracy is increasingly under pressure and Zeldin is a Trump loyalist and election denialist.
Hochul took the stage at her packed downtown Manhattan watch party around 11:30. p.m. to cheers and Aretha Franklin’s “Respect” as votes were still being counted and her lead over Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin was narrowing. She said, “The glass ceiling like the one that’s above us here today has finally been shattered in the state of New York, and you made it happen”.
Hochul led Zeldin 54 percent to 46 percent with 81 percent of the votes tallied around 12:30 a.m. Wednesday. Her election was fueled by a strong showing in New York City, which the candidates both viewed as key to their success.
While Hochul emerged victorious and did indeed make history, the results in many of the suburbs tell a different story. The 3rd Congressional District, that encompasses parts of Queens, Nassau and Suffolk counties, including the more affluent areas, went red. They chose George Santos over Robert Zimmerman with 55% of the vote. Even in Queens, more urban than Long Island and therefore generally trusted to go democrat, Zimmerman didn’t do much better.
The seat is being vacated by Democrat Thomas Suozzi who made a losing bid for the gubernatorial nomination against Hochul, and now it has gone from blue to red. And in a breaking news announcement, we just learned that in the the 5th Senate District, Nassau County, Steven Rhoads (R) beat John Brooks. “The results flip the seat to red, part of a wave of Nassau Republican victories this Election Day” says The Patch.
According to Ballotpedia, the newly-redrawn district’s registered voters are divided into 40 percent registered Democrats, 28 percent registered Republicans and 32 percent unaffiliated or third party. President Joe Biden won the district by 54 percent in 2020. Yet despite the overwhelming numbers that should have ensured a clear victory for the Democratic party, that didn’t happen.
This is another indication that New York’s long-standing solid blue identity may be changing and that Hochul should consider herself lucky to have pulled out a squeaker. Sure, we can celebrate another that another crack has been made in the glass ceiling, but let’s not forget about the bigger picture.
